LLM Reference

DeepSeek V4 Pro vs o3 Mini

DeepSeek V4 Pro (2026) and o3 Mini (2025) are frontier-tier reasoning models from DeepSeek and OpenAI. DeepSeek V4 Pro ships a 1m-token context window, while o3 Mini ships a 200k-token context window. On MMLU PRO, DeepSeek V4 Pro leads by 8.4 pts. On pricing, DeepSeek V4 Pro costs $0.43/1M input tokens versus $1.10/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.

DeepSeek V4 Pro is ~153% cheaper at $0.43/1M; pay for o3 Mini only for coding workflow support.

Decision scorecard

Local evidence first
SignalDeepSeek V4 Proo3 Mini
Best forreasoning-heavy apps, tool-calling agents, and long-context analysisreasoning-heavy apps, tool-calling agents, and provider-routed production
Decision fitCoding, RAG, and AgentsCoding, RAG, and Agents
Context window1m200k
Cheapest output$0.87/1M tokens$4.40/1M tokens
Provider routes5 tracked4 tracked
Shared benchmarksMMLU PRO leader4 shared

Decision tradeoffs

Choose DeepSeek V4 Pro when...
  • DeepSeek V4 Pro holds a shared-benchmark lead on MMLU PRO, ahead by 8.4 points.
  • DeepSeek V4 Pro has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
  • DeepSeek V4 Pro has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.87/1M tokens.
  • DeepSeek V4 Pro has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
  • Local decision data tags DeepSeek V4 Pro for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
Choose o3 Mini when...
  • o3 Mini uniquely exposes Code execution in local model data.
  • Local decision data tags o3 Mini for Coding, RAG, and Agents.

Monthly cost at traffic

Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.

Lower estimate DeepSeek V4 Pro

DeepSeek V4 Pro

$566

Cheapest tracked route/tier: DeepSeek Platform

o3 Mini

$1,980

Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter

Estimated monthly gap: $1,415. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.

Switch friction

DeepSeek V4 Pro -> o3 Mini
  • Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter and Vercel AI Gateway; start route-level A/B tests there.
  • o3 Mini is $3.53/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
  • o3 Mini adds Code execution in local capability data.
o3 Mini -> DeepSeek V4 Pro
  • Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter and Vercel AI Gateway; start route-level A/B tests there.
  • DeepSeek V4 Pro is $3.53/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
  • Check replacement coverage for Code execution before moving production traffic.

Specs

Specification
Released2026-04-242025-01-31
Context window1m200k
Parameters1.6T—
ArchitectureMixture of ExpertsDecoder Only
LicenseMITOSI-approvedProprietary
OpennessOpen sourceProprietary
WeightsAvailableNot released
CodeUnknownUnknown
Commercial useCommercial use: permittedCommercial use: conditional
Knowledge cutoff-2025-04

Pricing and availability

Pricing attributeDeepSeek V4 Proo3 Mini
Input price$0.43/1M tokens$1.10/1M tokens
Output price$0.87/1M tokens$4.40/1M tokens
Providers
DeepSeek PlatformFireworks AIOpenRouterVercel AI GatewayNovita AI
OpenRouterAzure OpenAIOpenAI APIVercel AI Gateway

Capabilities

CapabilityDeepSeek V4 Proo3 Mini
VisionNoNo
MultimodalNoNo
ReasoningYesYes
JSON / Tool useYesYes
Structured outputsYesYes
Code executionNoYes
IDE integrationNoNo
Computer useNoNo
Parallel agentsNoNo

Benchmarks

BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 Proo3 Mini
MMLU PRO87.579.1
SWE-bench Verified80.649.3
Google-Proof Q&A90.179.7
Chatbot Arena1456.01335.0

Continue comparing

Model pages
Labs and families
Related comparisons

Popular comparisons for DeepSeek V4 Pro

Popular comparisons for o3 Mini

Last reviewed: 2026-06-29. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.